San Francisco Market Update

Q1 2021 Wrap-up

San Francisco remains tremendously active as we continue through the spring selling season. The number of properties sold increased significantly in both the single-family home and condominium segments. The median sale price for Single-family homes also recorded a new record for the quarter at $1,675,000; a 6.7 percent increase from last year. They are also selling slightly faster than last year at a median market time of 12 days.

The condominium sector is a bit more friendly to buyers currently, even though there was a huge yearly increase in the number of sales. The median sale price decreased 3.8 percent with the median days on market increasing 12 days from last year to 36 for the quarter. So while more condominiums are selling, they are doing so at a slightly lower price and with longer time spent on the market.

National mortgage rates remained mostly flat last week after recent increases. FreddieMac reported, 'Although mortgage rates remain low, we are beginning to see a pullback by those looking to enter the housing market. In fact, homebuyer demand has gone from 25% above pre-COVID levels at the start of the year, when mortgage rates hit record lows, to 8% above pre-COVID levels today. We even see that purchasing demand is diminished today as compared to late May and early June of 2020 when mortgage rates were at the same level. This is confirmation that while purchase demand remains strong, the marginal buyer is feeling the affordability squeeze resulting from the increases in mortgage rates and home prices we've experienced in recent months.